The Red Devils will play Ipswich Town on the road to begin the new Portuguese manager’s tenure in the Premier League, giving Ruben Amorim his first taste of action as manager of Manchester United.

Given that the Tractor Boys recently pulled off an unexpected away victory at Tottenham Hotspur and that Kieran McKenna is eager to get even with the newcomer to the Old Trafford hot seat because of his previous Man United allegiance, this may be a banana skin.

Amorim will already be considering any possible additions to his team after this first test in Suffolk; he may be giving priority to a new central midfield player to play with Manuel Ugarte.

The significance of Ugarte under Amorim

The history between Amorim and Ugarte is already well known, and in the summer of 2023, the Uruguayan secured a significant transfer to Paris St. Germain after excelling at Sporting CP under the 39-year-old’s tutelage.

Although the Premier League is obviously very different from Amorim’s home country, the new manager at the Theatre of Dreams will want to coax even more out of the 23-year-old, who was starting to show promise under Ruud van Nistelrooy’s temporary leadership.

In the Dutchman’s last game as interim manager, Ugarte was outstanding. The United number 25 won ten duels and only misplaced four of his 51 passes as the Red Devils easily defeated Leicester City 3-1.

After struggling to get going against Chelsea in early November, when just two of his 13 duels that day were successfully won, he will need to ensure that his performance levels are more constant if Amorim wants to keep selecting him.

The former Sporting midfielder might be joined in the middle of the park by a new player who could end up being United’s very own Rodri under Amorim’s well-known management style.

The potential Rodri of Manchester United

Getting all of United’s center midfield players into a single starting lineup is the only challenge here, since he has possibilities like Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo that may work in his unique 3-4-3 formation.

However, it appears that he is interested in acquiring another midfield player, and German Leon Goretzka is one such player. TEAMTalk claims that Union Berlin, a Bundesliga team, will compete with them.

The 29-year-old is frustrated with his current circumstances in Bavaria and hasn’t been a consistent starter since Vincent Kompany took over as manager. The Red Devils could step in and help him revive his career.

Goretzka is a wise addition based on his eye for a goal and an assist, and he is reportedly the seventh most similar player to Rodri in Europe’s top five leagues on FBRef. If United decides to fire Casemiro in the future, this could be the ideal path to take.